Early voting bills have some early opponents

Some
groups involved with getting minorities to the polls are unhappy with legislation working its way through the
Legislature. Right now, you can sign up on a permanent early voting list, meaning a ballot will be mailed to
you in advance of every election.

But
Senator Michele Reagan wants to limit mailed ballots to two elections in a row,
unless you send back a postcard.

A
second change would limit who could return the ballot of someone else. Monica
Sandschafer of One Arizona says that would interfere with efforts to get
minorities to vote.

“It’s
pretty paternalistic to tell a voter that, you know, if you trust a volunteer that’s
working with an organization to take your ballot and take it in for you, that
you don’t get to make that choice,” Sandschafer said.

Reagan
says voters could still have
friends hand-deliver their ballots. She's concerned about ballots being
mass-delivered by outside groups, which she contends does not happen in other states.

The
two measures have been approved in the Senate and could come up this week on
the House floor.

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